Marathon for the Development of Innovative Applications and Services for Local Authorities

From ideas to action!

Cyta is supporting the organisation of the first marathon for the development of innovative applications for smart cities.

The event will be held on 23 – 25 February at the central offices of Cyta in Nicosia.

Cyta Smartcity Crowdhackathon is a Marathon for the Development of Innovative Applications and Services, during which participants are to develop pilot services and applications solving problems that Local Authorities face and supporting local and national development through new technologies.

Those that can participate in the crowdhackathon are officials of the Municipalities, young entrepreneurs, developers, analysts, students and anyone interested in turning their idea on solutions for smart cities into a comprehensive pilot application on the Internet or/and mobile phones.

Through the action Cyta Smartcity Crowdhackathon, the creative human capital is mobilized, creativity and youth entrepreneurship are boosted and innovation is promoted. At the same time, the social dimension of the ideas and the general philosophy of open public data actively contribute to social solidarity which is necessary nowadays. The action is part of the effort of Cyta to promote innovation and entrepreneurship as well as the creation of new businesses by young people and scientists of our country.

The process will be participatory with the active involvement of Municipalities and their officials, the business and academic community and all interested parties. Citizens have an active role in highlighting problems and they can participate as contestants in order to propose solutions.The thematic areas will be enriched by everyone’s participation through a dedicated consultation platform (Crowdinnovation).

For the first time, online consultations will take place for the submission of needs, ideas and proposals concerning the electronic infrastructures of the Municipalities and improvement of their operation as well as the local development through innovative technologies and practices.

Participation in Cyta Smartcity Crowdhackathon

Participation is FREE, there is a limited number of slots per role; participation is on a first come-first served basis. You have to register through the event platform in order to be able to enter the hackathon venue.

You can participate in the crowdhackathon having one of the following roles:

Contestants: Teams made up of young peopletoimplement applications. The contestants can be developers, analysts, designers, consultants etc., and they compete in groups of 2-5 persons (desirable).

Mentors: they guide and support the contestants.

Volunteers: they support the event.

Visitors: They can be company executives, public sector bodies or NGO members, but they do not take part in the competition; they watch the progress of the development of applications, the presentations and the side events.

Data owners: they are organisations that will provide data which can be utilized and may come from either the public or the private sector.

Journalists

Time frame:

17 January 2018: Open day for discussion on good practices and smart city solutions, presentation of Cyta Smartcity Crowdhackathon and planning. Participation of Municipalities officials and sponsors. Discussion with the innovation managers of Municipalities on the needs of the Municipalities and finalisation of the requirements and specifications of the competition.

January 2018: Open consultation for submitting ideas, proposals, commenting and voting on the needs of the citizens on a local and municipal level.

15 February 2018: Release of the requirements and specifications in order for the participants to get ready.

23 – 25 February 2018: CYTA Smartcity Crowdackathon and side events.

Evaluation: The applications will be evaluated based on the idea and degree of implementation during the crowdhackathon, their innovation and business or social interest, as well as their ability to be applied directly to Municipalities. The evaluation committee will be made up of renowned executives from the public and private sector.

Applications made by the Society for the Society: All the applications created during the Cyta Smartcity Crowdhackathon will be available to everyone. The best pilot applications and services will be awarded a prize and the teams will have the opportunity to further develop them with the support of Cyta and the sponsors.

The action Cyta Smartcity Crowdhackathon is part of the strategy and policy of Cyta for introducing new technologies, solving everyday problems of the Municipalities and developing through participatory structures and open processes.

More information will be available shortly on the online platform of the action and the facebook page.